


Haunting me

by Poorhuni



Series: Gotham AU [6]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Gotham (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:25:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8013814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poorhuni/pseuds/Poorhuni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: (I cannot remember the exact one but) Drabble of my muse haunting yours.<br/>Gotham AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Haunting me

It had started with another argument, another shitty argument… Because with them it always seemed to start with an argument. Every single time. And as usual, Harley wouldn’t be able to tell you what started it. She thought they’d fixed this - they’d talked, they’d said their I love you’s, dragged the skeletons from their closets…  
  
But perhaps that was the problem. Harley had dragged her skeletons out into the light, displayed them, raw and rending for Harvey. He’d told her he had them, but couldn’t, wouldn’t tell her more. Which was maybe why, after what she presumed had been a hard day at work, she’d found him drinking - and quite invested in his session, a nearly empty bottle by him.

And of course, something set one of them off - and the spark caused an inferno. Being in his face, smelling the alcohol on his breath, the bottle just inches from her. She wanted it. She wanted to drink herself into oblivion, just like Harvey was doing. And that was no good for either of them… Harley was tired, Harvey was drunk and when they finally wound up where they always did - with him telling her he told her so and telling her to trade him in for a newer model - Harley gave in. “Fine.” She said, she left, she walked out - slamming the door behind her and Harvey was too wounded, or to drunk, to stop her this time.

She wanted to get drunk, she wanted to fill the empty hole inside with a pint of liquor - she wanted it more than she wanted to breathe. The idea of obliterating the whole night - everything that she had Harvey had said to each other, each little wound erased by the calming warmth of a drunken haze…

But it didn’t fix anything. Not in the long term anyway.

And so - she went to the gym - took her anger out on the treadmill - running until the need to gasp air into her hungry lungs overtook the want for a drink until her muscles ached more than her heart - until she literally could run no more.

The endorphin high saw her off to bed and when she woke up the next morning she was stiff and aching but clear headed. They were driving each other to drink - more so than usual at least - it was destroying them, really and if left alone might actually kill one of them.

So when the texts and calls started coming through around noon, she ignored them. And because she was certain Harvey would show up eventually because he was ~~worried~~  relentless. She made sure she wasn’t at home. Save for telling him to go away, she ignored him when he showed up at the hospital, marching away from him when he showed no sign of doing so, locking herself in a supply closet, sinking to the floor, shaking and crying as soon as she was sure he wasn’t on the other side of the door.

Eventually, he seemed to get the picture - he stopped texting, stopped calling, stopped showing up. It was hard, staying resolute against him - but something was about to make that seem like a breeze.

She started seeing him everywhere, well, no - not him… But just things that made her think of him and her heart ache. And then as soon as she mended the hurt - there he was again. In the coffee shop, she’d smell his cologne. She was on the train and she spotted him (and Harvey never got the train) but when she went to tell him to stop stalking her - it was just some guy in a leather jacket with a hat. Daily she walked past somewhere they’d eaten together. A cop got brought into the ER one night - she wasn’t allowed anywhere near him - having been shot. And for hours she agonised over Harvey, long after she’d found out that this guy wasn’t even from his precinct.

She saw him everywhere, in people’s faces, she’d hear him on songs on the radio, she’d even started dreaming of him…

And when Eric kissed her, in a half lit locker room, all she could think of was Harvey. She’d pulled away, stammering out some excuse, racing away. Crossing the hospital car park, she stared at her phone, teetering on indecision.

Surely it was like the universe was telling her something right? Eric - wanting her - her wanting Harvey? On her first day here, had Eric (who was everything Harvey wanted for her) kissed her - she would have flipped. But now all she wanted was Harvey… Removed from the argument by a week or two, she couldn’t even really recall what she’d been so worried about, maybe it wasn’t too late to repair it all..?

She made her decision - and in that exact same second - she was unable to do anything about it. An arm like an iron bar closed around her waist, hauling her up off the ground - and in the split second it took for her to start shrieking - there was a hand clapped over her mouth.

She writhed furiously, kicking, flailing at her assailant - he reacted, tightening his grip - the arm over her stomach threatening to wind her, the hand over her mouth bending her neck back painfully.

“Stop fighting - it’s only going to make this worse for you.” He was carrying her, despite her fidgeting, towards a van nearby. She screamed, doubling her efforts. “Shut up bitch!” He grunted. With her flailing Harley managed to get a foot on his van, kicking back off it hard.

The guy holding her overbalanced, fell and dropped her. She rolled away, scrambled to her feet, ready to start running before he got up too but a blur of movement gave her pause. Someone was on the would-be kidnapper - punching him and hard.

Panting and still mildly panicked - Harley realised she recognised the man who had already succeeded in knocking the other guy out - unless, of course, this was another sign from the universe.

“Harvey?” She approached him cautiously - each hit he landed was accompanied with a grunt of effort. “Harv?” She placed a hand gently on his shoulder and he turned - an angry, ugly look on his face for a split second before he saw her. “I think he’s down for the count, Harv.” She said softly.

He pulled his shoulder away from her, but at least got up, pacing slightly, apparently unable to look at her. Harley glanced between him and the guy on the floor until Harvey found his voice.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Good.” He shot her a glance, paused letting his eyes rake over her, before turning to leave. He couldn’t help himself, however, spinning back around and advancing on her. “What we’re y’ doin’ Harley?” He asked. “Huh? You know this car park is dangerous - I told y’ - and you’re just in your own little world - anythin’ could happen.”

“I was… I was gonna call you.”

“Yeah? Really?” He snapped back at her.

“Yeah, that was… That was what I was doing.”

“Oh.” Harvey started pacing again, glancing at her every so often.

“Thank you… For saving me.”

Harvey shrugged, trying to seem like he didn’t care but he’d stopped pacing, and the frequency with which he was looking at her had increased. He kept seeming like he was going to talk, or do something - but then faltering.

Truth be told - he wanted to yell at her, how could she be so stupid? He wanted to hold her, he wanted to kiss her, it had been a lonely two weeks. He wanted to apologise, for what he said, for pushing her away. Now that she was around him, and for more than two minutes, he wasn’t sure he was above begging her to forgive him either…

“No, really. Thank you.” She was closer, getting into his space, trying to catch his gaze and hold it. As his eyes met hers, he only hoped she didn’t ask why he was here, because he didn’t think he could take another argument on top of everything else right now.

“Harley ’m s-”

“Shh.” She whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Bu-”

She slipped her hand gently into one of his, careful of his sore knuckles, her other hand slipping up his cheek into his hair, pressing a gentle kiss against his lips.

At first, he went stiff and Harley was certain he’d pull away - push her back - tell her no - her leaving had ruined everything and her childish acts of ignoring him couldn’t just be overlooked. But eventually, with a quiet groan, he softened, kissing her back, arms wrapping around her.

Harley tried to put all the things she didn’t have words for into the kiss, and when they stopped she threw herself at him, arms curling around him tightly. “I missed you, I’m sorry.” She told him over and over, pressing desperate kisses into his neck, scared that the second she released him he’d pull away and tell her they needed to talk, that they had to be over, that he’d gotten over her, that he’d been right - she was too young, he was too old and she deserved better. She couldn’t keep on being haunted by the memory of him, she had to have the real thing - even if that meant never letting go of him again.


End file.
